Bert was a former Manchester United player and first team coach at the time of his death.

Bert was born August 6th, 1913 in Ashton-under-Lyne (Lancashire). He was promising half-back signed by Manchester United from Stalybridge Celtic in May 1934. The second world war prevented Bert from a promising football career as a player and would go on to make 38 professional appearances for the club.

In 1946, Bert joined Matt Busby's back room team and was an essential cog in the wheel of developing young players at the club.

Bill Foulkes said in his autobiography of Bert:

Bert Whalley was the club coach and a very good one. He seemed to spend his whole life with the young players and he was certainly a tremendous help to me when I was a part-timer, just training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Bert used to write to me every week and the letter would arrive like clockwork on a Friday.

In it would be a detailed report on how he thought I had played the week before and then a description of the team we would be playing the following day with details about the man I would be marking.

I was almost an outsider at the club in those days but Bert bridged the gap and kept me in touch so that I felt a part of the club.